Bernie Ecclestone, the formula one chief, is driving a hard bargain with the sport's teams. Photograph: John Marsh/Action Images

Bernie Ecclestone, the formula one commercial-rights holder, has warned the competing teams that not only are they unlikely to gain a bigger slice of the sport's revenues over the coming years but that they might have to do with less income.

In what is being seen as muscle-flexing before renegotiating the so-called Concorde agreement, Ecclestone is threatening to trim the reputed $500m a year which goes to the teams. This is made up from race-sanctioning fees, track advertising and television-rights income.

Ecclestone, however, believes that dramatic cost cuts in the sport mean there is little need for the teams to get more. "We don't need to pay more. We've got to give them less," said Ecclestone. "In what I call the good old days, all we had to do was have a chat with the people who had all the money ... but now they come and they've got lawyers and masseurs and can never agree on anything. They could ask for more money but they won't get it."

The teams believe it is wrong that 50% of Formula One's income goes to Ecclestone and CVC Capital Partners, which has a stake in his Formula One Management empire, without any of that cash benefitting the sport. For his part, Ecclestone believes the teams complain too much and have forgotten that his efforts over 30 years have made them as rich as they are.

Meanwhile, Robert Kubica has said he is determined to forget last season's frustrations over BMW Sauber's lack of progress as he begins a serious world title campaign in 2009. The Polish driver was dismayed at the way that the team sacrificed development on their F1.08 in favour of work on their 2009 car. However, he is hoping these tactics will now pay off with the F1.09. Kubica finished the season in fourth place and 23 points adrift of Lewis Hamilton. "Sometimes it's very difficult to understand some situations, and everybody has different views," he said.